A Ray of Hope
by UnwrittenMemory
Summary: One-Shot: Connell and Meg. The story you didn't know. A cute, yet tragic little story following the cute Soundset Maker.


**A/N: **I heard someone talking about how they wanted a Connell Story? Well, I'm going to write one, may be a one-shot depending on how it ends.

This is probably darker than most of you want to think of Connell, but, I think it fits him. He is kind-hearted and gentle. And I think those with the most troubling pasts are the best people.

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><p><strong>Above the Trees<strong>

**Prologue:**

Once, a lonely life was hidden in the trees of a town, a town small enough to be unseen by the unknowing travellor. That lonely life was one of a boy, torn from his father in a great peace, ending a life of endangerment and beginning a life of consistency and happiness. Connell's life, before he joined up with the army, and even before he heard the beautiful blessings of sound was just that, endangering.

Locked away in his small house, he and his sister cowered from their abusive father on a daily basis. Locked away from the rays of sun, and away from the colors that lit up the world that was Suikoden. They lived their life hidden in the shadows, beneath their rickety roof, and inside their flimsy walls in Forest Village. They dared call it a home.

It was raining, the hard and fierce drops of crystal clear water pillaged down onto their weak roof, as if it were angry that the hues of the sky were never seen, and angry that they wouldn't be playing in it's deep puddles after it were long gone and far away. A golden bolt of electricity flashed through the sky and the wind blew through an open crack in their window as they waited, separate in their rooms for their father's arrival, Connell and his sister. But, he never came, even after the storm ended and the bright sunshine flowed through the cracked window. Rainy days can be the best of days, perhaps, because they always bring on change and create anew.

"Where's father?" Everyday the same questions, everyday the elder brother would answer the same way.

"I don't know." The days had passed and their confidence grew more and more. Enough, that one day the two stepped outside about a week after their father's disappearance, food in their house was becoming scarce and they needed to restock.

Their pale skin welcomed the light, it revived what was dead, something even lotion could no longer fix. They waved to their long-time neighbors that were out and about, none of them bothered to ask about their father, the two never mentioned it.

Eventually years went by, the father never returned. Their lives were happy, they were content with how things were going, and the ever-growing young man, Connell, finally figured what he was going to do with his life. Music, the creation of sound, beautiful sound that flowed through the eardrums of even the deaf, sound that everyone could appreciate.

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><p>"Are you leaving <em>again<em>, big brother?" Connell's sister asked, sounding more annoyed with his every word.

"You like to eat, don't you?" He smiled in her direction and ruffled the smaller girl's hair, just a bit to make her giggle. "I'll be back soon." He promised.

He had a job to do, at least a job he _wanted_ to do. Studying the cultures of many, he finally found his style fused by the style of others. 'It's graceful' he called it. Graceful.

Slinging his bag gently over his shoulder, he waved goodbye to the younger girl. "Mrs. Ayda will be here soon to take care of you, be good for her please." And with that, he closed the door softly and took in the fresh air of his town, Forest Village. Today? He was on his way to a large city, stapled inward with a big, historical school. Grand Leaf Academy, is what he thought the name was.

He couldn't help but wonder about the people there, what they were like, and of course, what kind of music they listened to most. If their culture was important to them, it should be important to everyone. If it weren't, it were to likely die along with the generation.

Walking swiftly to the borders of the village, he ran into someone and promptly fell to the ground. "Ouch…" He moaned softly, looking up to see the damage he had done.

A pretty young woman, sitting next to him sat up and rubbed her head gently. "Hey! Watch where ya' are goin'!" She said, well, yelled practically. Yet, the features on her face were still soft. He knew she wasn't angry, though the pitch of her shrill voice made him flinch regardless if she was mad or not.

The girl definitely wasn't from around there, she was dressed in green and white, looking like she had come out of a children's book, with.. Was that a barrel next to her?

Quickly he stood up. "I am so sorry, miss." He reached out his hand to help her on her feet, and she gingerly took hold of it. 'Soft..' Was all he thought.

"No, no, don't worry about it. It happens all the time." She replied to his apologies. "I'm really quite clumsy." She giggled softly.

"Me too, I don't actually get out all too often… By the way, my name is Connell. What is your name?"

She smiled and grabbed his hand, shaking it ferociously. "I'm Meg! And this is Gadget!" She pointed to the, now shaking, barrel.

A small head popped out of the top, a wooden head. "How do you do, young master." The barrel, Gadget, introduced. Maybe, just maybe, it wsd a robot from a far away land Connell could only hope to visit one day, such a creature like that intrigued him intensely.

Connell looked to the sun. It hung in the very middle of the sky. For a second, he felt as if it's gentle rays were ensuring a safe venture, if he was to make it to Greenhill by morning, he was going to have to leave now regardless of the hope of the sun.

"I'm sorry, Meg, but I really must be going." He pulled his hand away from her solid grip.

"Well, where are ya' headed? We just stopped here for a snack." She smiled. "We are actually headed to the Academy, to see if they will take us in." She stopped and thought about it. "Do ya' know of the school?" Then she got excited. "Do you go to the Academy yourself?" She asked, guessing he was about the same age as her.

He chuckled slightly. School… Wasn't his calling.

"Do you mean the Newleaf Academy in Greenhill?" He asked with hope as he shook his head from her previous statement. She nodded eagerly, but in a way that comforted the boy. "Maybe we could travel together then, I'm not headed to the Academy per-say, but I am headed towards Greenhill. I wouldn't be a gentleman if I let a young lady such as yourself walk alone. It is an overnight trip." He smiled, as he tried to reason with her.

"After we eat then, perhaps? I'm starving." She took his hand and led him of, his head hanging back from the sheer force she pulled him with.

The attention made him smile, after all these years of searching for someone kind, someone who wouldn't mind just, being there, made him smile. The boy's father was long forgotten at that moment.

Realizing his life wouldn't be a silent one, farther than pursuing music, he found a laughter that bellowed deep from within, not a fake one he put on for his sister, but one sincere.

He found his own music, and that was the best sound he could think of.

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><p><strong>AN Well, I am re-purposing this story, fixing up some of the mistakes in it and re-sending it. Tell me what you thinnk, as always, read, review, and enjoy. Connell is such a cutie.**


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